Chateau de Belcier Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux 2011

My local Costco currently has several French wines in their selection and I found the Chateau de Belcier Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux 2011 for $10.99.

The Castillon district of the Cotes de Bordeaux is in the eastern edge of the Bordeaux region. The district primarily grows Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with lesser amounts of Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere.

The Chateau de Belcier is crafted from Merlot (69%), Cabernet Franc (25%) and Malbec (6%) and was aged in French oak for 8 months. The wine has 14% alcohol.

The wine is a dry wine with flavors of dried plums, earth and cedar. The flavor is influenced by the amount of Cabernet Franc in the blend. This is a different style wine than most California blends that I am more accustomed to drinking although it reminded me of some Virginia and North Carolina Cabernet Franc based red blends. It took me a while to warm up to this wine but on the second day I began to really like it and was very sorry when it was gone. This is a great wine to pair with any beef dish or barbeque. I will buy more if it is still available on my next trip to Costco.

SC Wine Joe rating = 89 points

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